Sometimes.
Because I think that there are blanket statements in Scripture that, if taken to heart, would largely answer a host of these "gray areas". Take, for instance, "love your neighbor as yourself" and ask yourself, "Are the things I'm doing loving my neighbor?" I think you'll find that many times they are not.
In that whole arena of what may or may not be sin, it should be pretty simple to at least ask yourself "Does it glorify God?" because we are commanded "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). (Of interesting note is that this verse is offered particularly on the subject of "gray areas". In this instance it was eating meat offered to idols.) And I think you'd have to admit that a lot of what we choose to watch, to listen to, to participate in, to indulge doesn't actually have any dimension of glorifying God.
Or take that whole violent video game thing. Without even looking for the "Thou shalt not" verse, I think we can easily find a passage that answers the question.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8).The passage is clear. It tells us what to let our minds dwell on. Try as I might, I can't imagine how blowing people up for the fun of it with as much realism as you can find falls in any of these categories.
Now, mind you, I don't mean to suggest that all "gray areas" are answered here. And I think that it is entirely possible that someone can find "glorify God" in something that others wouldn't see it -- legitimately. It's just that I don't think that life is nearly as "gray" as we'd like to paint it. I suspect that it's much more "black and white". It's just not the same black and white for each person. Still, I'd argue that neither is it nearly as vague as we'd sometimes like to think. I'm not really confident that we're asking the right questions. Like, "What's wrong with ...?" rather than "What's right with ...?"
6 comments:
Right on! Hallelujah, brother!
Interestingly, this is a HUGE reason for supporting gay marriage. What's right with it? What's right with commitment, fidelity, family, selfless love, community...? Everything.
What could possibly be negative or harmful or sinful in any of it? Nothing that I can see, nothing at all.
I began moving away from being opposed to gay marriage when I began to not believe the Bible was condemning all gay behavior in those handful of verses that seem to be addressing some sort of gay behavior. But it was clinched when I saw the good, holy, gracious, giving, pure, Godly lives of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and could see by their faith and their actions that they were, indeed, followers of Christ.
What could be wrong with such, indeed? Great post!
(And yes, of course I know you don't agree with my conclusion, nor I yours, but it appears we ask a lot of the same questions in reaching our positions...)
I have never been opposed to gay marriage ... or round squares or any other oxymoron you might suggest.
But you missed the point, didn't you? First, the questions are regarding "gray areas", not areas specifically addressed. Second, you asked, "What could be wrong with such, indeed?" and I specifically said that "'What's wrong with ...?' rather than 'What's right with ...?'" is the wrong question.
What could be wrong with it? Nothing, I suppose, other than Scriptures' clear statements to the contrary.
Oh, and that whole "handful of verses" thing doesn't fly. A quick search of Scripture gives 10 references telling us to "love the Lord your God" -- something none of us dispute -- 8 verses to "love your neighbor as yourself" -- including duplicate references in parallel passages and, again, something none of us dispute -- and 5 references to homosexual behavior. In other words, it's just as clear. More clear, in fact, than such things as gossip (only 4 references).
And I agree it's not a gray area. You're way off wrong on this point. Seems to me.
We disagree as to the nature of this behavior and the Bible and "gray areas."
Your point remains solid, though: What can be wrong with this behavior (in this case, fidelity, commitment, love, family)? And the answer is Nothing.
It's a great question, even if I think you get it wrong on this point.
While reading this post I immediately felt that there could be a particular commenter present and I was not disappointed (except in that his predictable response is now here). The question is always, commitment to whom? fidelity to whom? what is meant by family? etc etc etc. Nothing in Scripture suggests anything that supports commitment and fidelity to anyone but God primarily, and then a member of the opposite sex for the purpose of marriage. NOTHING. All verses having to do with marriage or family indicate only the man/woman variety without exception and to the exclusion of all other possible variations.
What could possibly be negative or harmful or sinful in any of it? Only that homosex marriage is based on a behavior forbidden by God in any manifestation. There are no Scriptural references indicating exceptions. One must project onto Scripture something not indicated within it to come to any position that there are. Thus, there can be nothing "good, holy, pure or Godly" in the lives of those who reject His teachings in order to placate their self-indulgent pretenses. What could be wrong with such, indeed!
I say all this because I agree that the questions are good to ask of ourselves. And I say all this as Dan's comment is an illustration of what I was going to say had he not commented, which is that when we ask what will glorify God, there is nothing that prevents us, besides abject honesty, from suggesting that what we want to do does indeed glorify Him. As we see, Dan prefers to believe fidelity is all that matters, when what matters is to whom one is so faithfully committed. Can one be lovingly and faithfully committed in a marital relationship to one's mother (or father) as long as it's not in the manner of the Canaanites, and by all other appearances one is leading a good, loving, holy and giving life? No. There is no provision in Scripture for breaking THAT taboo, either. Thus, God cannot be glorified by doing that which He prohibits.
So we see here that asking the questions "What's wrong with...", "What's right with..." or "Will this action glorify God?" is not enough if one isn't willing to answer them honestly. Worse yet is that some are so corrupted in their thinking that they wouldn't know the difference.
Marshall...
The question is always, commitment to whom?
In our church, it's commitment to God, community and loved ones, when we get married. What's it mean to you?
fidelity to whom?
Again, God, community and loved ones. Who are you being faithful to when your community weds?
...what is meant by family?
Parents. Children. Grandparents. Aunts. Uncles.
What do you mean by family?
Those are my honest answers. Keep in mind that just because I don't agree with your particular interpretation of a few verses does not mean I'm not being honest. There's a difference between dishonesty and a difference of opinion.
What are you confounded by in all of this, Marshall? Do you really think being committed to a loved one in the sight of God and community is a bad thing?
By "fidelity to whom", I'm referring of course to the partner one chooses. Fidelity to the wrong person is not a good thing. It answers the question of "what's wrong with" same sex unions. There's nothing "good" or "holy" or "Godly" about uniting with someone in a manner that God has called sinful, which he has with homosexual unions.
It is as I have said, that you have joined with those who would dictate to God what would glorify Him rather than glorify Him in ways HE dictated to us. The fact that two men are "committed" to each other, that they claim some level of "fidelity" to each other does not make their sinful acts glorifying. Being "nice" whilst committing bad behavior doesn't make it a glorifying action.
Once again, the desire to please the self has come first. Then, the hunt for some way to claim goodness is pursued until one can feel comfortable with the pretense. You tell yourselves that all is well because you act holy and perform various acts of charity and otherwise posture as devout believers, but still you commit or support those who commit the sin. That ain't glorifying anybody no matter what you think you believe.
So, in true Christian understanding, it's commitment to God of course, but commitment to one's spouse who is of the opposite sex, because that glorifies God. One is not committed to God when one marries one of the same sex.
It's faithfulness to that spouse of the opposite sex. And family begins with a mother/woman and a father/man and the children they produce or adopt. That is what family means in Scripture and that is what God meant a family to be. All things being equal, a "family" that has two members of the same sex at its head is not glorifying to God.
Thus, I think committing one's self to a member of the opposite sex in the sight of God and the community is a good thing and can be glorifying to God. Pretending one is committing one's self to a member of the same sex in God's sight is neither.
So once again, asking the question "What's wrong with.." or "What's right with..." must be based on truth and fact, rather than twisting fact and truth to justify that which one would like to be seen as glorifying God.
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